


Dig a Little Deeper

by Rei382



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: M/M, Muggle AU, drarropoly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-13
Updated: 2020-01-13
Packaged: 2021-02-27 10:14:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,823
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22245433
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rei382/pseuds/Rei382
Summary: Draco is an archaeologist-turned-tour guide with a mission to get a rich investor to donate money in favor of continuing the digs in an important archaeological site.
Relationships: Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter
Comments: 4
Kudos: 57
Collections: Drarropoly 2.0 - A Drarry Game/Fest





	Dig a Little Deeper

“Yes?” Malfoy picked up the phone. The number looked familiar, but the name was tickling right at the edge of his brain. He really should start saving contacts. Probably.

_“Draco Malfoy? Hi! This is Amalia, from Ministry of Antiques. Are you free tomorrow?”_

Oh. That explains. He thought for a moment. Tomorrow. A Monday. Did he have anything to do? Highly unlikely, especially in this season. “Yes, I am.”

_“Oh, good! You have background in archaeology, right? I didn’t mistake you with another?”_

Draco frowned. That was almost insulting. “Yes, I studied archaeology and worked for the archaeological agency for seven years.”

_“Good, good! I have a job offer for you. Tomorrow we have an important investor coming over, and he would like to find a site to invest in for research… we need someone to show him our site to convince him to invest in us. Think you can do that?”_

An investor. That meant someone important and rich. That meant a nice, fat tip. Maybe big enough to help Draco pay his electricity bill without getting into the negative side of his bank account this month.

January was a bad month for tourism.

“Yes, of course! Which site would you like me to do? I probably dug there in the past.”

*

Draco made sure to dress in his nicest clothes that still fit work. He made sure to have his hair neatly arranged in ‘natural’ disarray. Making it look effortless took several good minutes in front of the mirror, and a healthy amount of hair products, which were one of the few things that even in the dead winter months Draco still invested in. Only after he made sure he looked presentable to said rich and important investor did he leave his little apartment and got down to the car that was waiting for him already for a few minutes. He apologized to the driver as he got in the passenger seat, and they made their way to the hotel where the investor was staying at. Draco used the time to practice his pitch and guiding. It’s not like he hasn’t been at the site recently; December, with all the holiday tourism, just ended. He knew it by heart. But he didn’t want to make any mistakes in front of someone who could afford to give him a tip that would cover his monthly rent. Especially since if he’d convince him to donate, he’ll get an extra bonus from the site management, or so Amalia (that was her name?) told him.

They reached the _Ritz Carlton_ and stopped in front of the front doors. Draco felt the tightness in his throat. He knew his job, and he was _good_ at it. During busy seasons he barely had time to breathe, let alone have any vacation of his own. But this was not the usual day trip, and it was not the usual guiding. This was a selling pitch. As a guide, it was also in his own interest that this investor will invest in sites here, where he can guide. As much as he liked his job, it could get boring if day after day he had to go to the exact same place and give the exact same explanations. If he could freshen it up a little bit it would add so much more.

Besides, the tips he would get saying that it was _his_ guiding that made it possible to uncover more things… and what if thanks to that they will find that it was actually _older_ than they thought today? What if they will uncover the bedrooms? What if they find stuff that means their whole understanding of the situation was wrong? Oh, he could imagine it! They will invite him to the ceremony of opening a new place, as the person who made it all happen. He will have enough money to buy a nice suit, which he will wear, and he will look _great_. Maybe the rich investor would be a good-looking young man, and maybe, just maybe, he was into men. Into blond, good looking men. Like Draco.

He stopped this extremely dangerous train of thought. After all, it was much more likely that the investor would be an old, ugly guy. And married. To a fancy-looking woman. At the very best a man of that position will have a one, maybe two night fun with someone like Draco; but they won’t be taking him seriously, no matter who Draco’s parents were. Estranged because of his choices and sexual preferences, other than his last name he had nothing to show for his heritage. Tea with him mother, at times, but usually his father was around and would forbid him from coming unless he apologized for who he was.

Pushing all thoughts to the back of his mind, and instead setting his mind to the large tip he expected at the end of what he also expected to be a rather tiring day, Draco stepped through the automated doors into the hotel. It wasn’t his first time at the Ritz; but he was always astonished from the luxurious look of the place. Carefully placed water-walls and modern design that screamed luxury, it always made him think of home and vacations with his parents. Too bad the type of people who could afford him usually stayed at places like that. But other than the pain that now accompanied memories with his parents, this type of place always gave him a feeling of home, too. His upbringing made him fit well with stuck-up attitude and fake politeness. This always helped with his clients. He used that now as he confidently walked through the carpet-covered floor to the concierge, offering his bright smile to the receptionist.

“Hello. I am looking for a Mr. Potter?” he said, but before the young-looking boy could answer him, he heard a voice, and footsteps hurrying towards him.

“Draco? Draco Malfoy?”

Draco turned his head. He saw a young man – looked to be about the same age as himself – walking, almost running, towards him. Draco frowned for a second before he controlled his features. This young man did not look whatsoever like the image of a millionaire he had in mind. With slightly messy dark hair, and soft, kind-looking expression, he was far from the oligarch Draco imagined. His clothes looked too sloppy to fit his alleged social status, too. While Draco was expecting to find a man dressed in an expensive suit, the man in front of him was dressed in a plain sweater and pants that clearly did not fit him well and made Draco want to take him to a decent tailor as their first stop.

He really couldn’t understand rich people, sometimes.

“Yes. Mr. Potter?” there was a nod, and smile, that brightened those face up. Draco had to admit it was a nice smile that made his green eyes glitter. “I am here to show you – “

“Yeah, I know! I’m super excited. Let’s go!”

Draco followed him to the car, joining him in the back seat.

*

The ride was – nice, Draco had to admit. His client did not act at all like the typical rich person. Not like Draco would’ve acted in his place. He seemed excited about Draco’s general explanations, eager to learn and see new places. Draco couldn’t help but let the thoughts from earlier sneak in; Mr. Potter was far from being an old ugly guy. The more Draco looked at him, the more he realized he was actually rather handsome. Yes, he needed an urgent polish work; but Draco figured that with the right clothing, he could look even good. He did see, when they were exiting the hotel, that under those horribly-fitting pants, Mr. Potter was hiding some very nice assets. It also didn’t help that he had no ring on his finger, or the light touches whenever he saw something out of the window, and said Draco’s name in such a way that made Draco’s skin prickle.

He had to keep professional, thought. Light flirting was fine; but his job was one: to make this exceptionally rich man decide to invest in _this_ specific project. Therefore when they got to the site, Draco wasted no time, and showed Mr. Potter around. He took him first through the visitor’s center, where they had a short movie about the site: giving a simple explanation about the rich history. It was good that Mr. Potter would see this. The movie was outdated and just plain bad. After the movie he led him into the courtyard.

The sun was shining on them. It might have been winter, officially, but in this place, winter was a two-week fling that came anywhere between December and February, to not be seen again until the next year. This year it was in the end of December: right in peak season, which meant Draco had to spend most of it outside in the rain. Horrible thing. At least the tips were worth it.

He gestured at the open courtyard. “As you probably know, Mr. Potter, this place had been declared a UNESCO Heritage Site about twenty years ago. It is true that since then it received decent funding, however, it is not enough to uncover even half of what it has to offer. There are findings here that are incredibly old and it is even mentioned in the New Testimony. It became important, however, around the Roman Empire time, as the port, which I will show you later, was used for the Roman army during the Great Rebellion. This fortress we’re standing at is one of the most important ones in the entire world! Look right here,” he pointed. “See these stairs? Even something as simple as that lets us know about the history, the type of people who were, and what they were doing. You can see that the stairs are really thin. This means they used them while riding on their horses. Do you see this window, here, right under it?” He watched as Mr. Potter nodded, looking fascinated. This was good. “You can only see half of it. That’s because about 80% of this place is still uncovered. Come on, do you want to see inside?”

“Very much! This is super interesting.”

Draco offered a smile, and gestured for Mr. Potter to follow him into the fortress. His smile became more genuine at the ‘wow’ Mr. Potter said upon entering the hall. It was a huge space, considering, with four giant poles decorated with golden belts. It was the usual reaction, but it was satisfying to get it every time anew. “This was the knight’s dining hall. You can tell by the size of the place, and by the drainage here by the walls. Just the size of this place can tell you how strong and meaningful this fortress was. This hall can probably hold about a thousand knights at a time. This also tells us just how little of this place we uncovered so far. Let’s move on.” He took him on the remainder of the tour: showed him the bathhouse, the common toilet, the hidden rooms, the underground tunnels. He was surprised at how thrilled Mr. Potter was about the whole thing. He swallowed Draco’s explanations, the stories, speculations. He seemed impressed when Draco told him how he used to be a part of the digging team when the tunnels were discovered. He nodded in understanding every time Draco showed a place where the digging was not done, or where there was a clear addition that has yet to be discovered (and he did that quite often, always keeping his mission in mind and the nice bonus that was waiting for him should he convince Mr. Potter to donate), even making comments about how important he thought this project was. He seemed especially thrilled about the idea of the different layers of the city; so Draco made sure to show him the Hammam that showed the wealth and was on a complete different ground level than the dining hall, and made sure to show him where one could clearly see the new city being built on top of the old one. He even explained why some places were completely ruined, while others were just repurposed.

Overall, Draco was very pleased with himself. There was only one thing that slightly disturbed him; during his explanations, Mr. Potter seemed to be rather focused on _him_ , rather than the site. Yes, he listened and nodded, and had the correct reaction and the right questions. But Draco could see the way his eyes at times traveled over his body; he didn’t miss the short pauses on certain areas of his body, especially those Draco made sure to show with his clothing choice. He knew just how well his button-up shirt was sitting on his torso, and he knew how his pants showed off the hard work he was putting on scalping his behind. He did that on purpose, intending to get, well, this reaction exactly. But that was when he thought Mr. Potter would be an ugly old rich guy who would translate his sexual frustration into cash. Now that he realized that he was, in fact, a young, not-at-all bad looking fellow, it added a tension Draco did not intend for. It made him feel uncomfortable and overly aware of how he looked. How he stood, how he moved his hand, just how low his pants rode every time he had to bend forward to pass through one of the lower ceiling areas where he could not pass at full height.

He didn’t like it. He didn’t like how hyper aware he was, didn’t like how those green eyes were looking at him. Because it wasn’t the hunger he usually experienced with such lookers. It was more curiosity and appreciation. Despite the invasive nature, there was still something almost shy about it. It gave Draco a strange feeling and by the time he took him to the port, he already regretted this course of action. But he was a professional; he could handle the very clear sexual tension without embarrassing himself even with the romantic background of the crusaders’ city by the calm sea, especially at this time of the day, with the sun slowly setting. His only condolence was that sunset meant this – _torture –_ was about to end soon. Just summing everything up, talking a little bit more business, and then…

…and then an awkward two hours ride back to Mr. Potter’s hotel. But then Draco would be free to go home and take a cold shower, maybe search through grinder a bit and take some random hottie to a bar, impress him by paying for his drinks with the money he will get from this job. Surely that, with the right pants (not the ones he was wearing now; those showed off his best asset, but in a work-appropriate way. If he will go on a date he will need something better), will land him a less lonely and less frustrated night tonight. 

He could do it.

“Thank you for being such a good traveler, Mr. Potter. We are now at our final site. The port was especially important during the Roman Empire, and it was the most important port for the crusaders in this area of the world. Nowadays it doesn’t serve as a trading spot, but as you can see,” he gestured at the sea, with its slow waves breaking on the rocks, “now it’s mostly for leisure. As you can see there are many restaurants here, most of them serve fish and sea food, but don’t be fooled, almost none of it is caught here,” he offered a smile. “Some do. Like this one,” he pointed, paused for a second. “I hope you enjoyed your tour and that I managed to show you the magic and potential of the Old City.”

Mr. Potter looked at him, his green eyes sparkling. “Oh, definitely! Thank you!” the excitement was clear in his voice. Draco couldn’t help the thought of the bonus from crossing his mind, feeling pleased with himself. “You have so much knowledge. That part, about that… uh… the flower thing – “

“Fleur de lis.”

“Yes! That. I had no idea it started like that. And the story about how the Templers had to build a tunnel underground just because they were not allowed to pass through the over ground passage… Wow! You’re really knowledgeable. You’re an archeologist?”

“Of course. I was an archeologist for seven years, but decided to move on to tour guiding a while back. I missed human interaction.” That was his usual lie. Truth was, there was just no money in pure archaeology, and he needed to make a living when his parents officially kicked him off their support, just a step away from disowning him. “That’s probably why they chose me to be your guide today, Mr. Potter. I understand you loved the site? Do you agree with me that it has an incredible potential? Imagine the historical finds this place still holds! We already learned so much about the ancient life, economics of the time, different powers, what was available - the possibilities are endless!”

“Oh, definitely! And I will be

sure to transfer this information to my boss.”

“This would be greatly

appreciated,” Draco started walking towards the parking lot where the car and

the driver were waiting when a sudden thought hit him. His _boss_?

He paused, frowned, then forced his features back into a smile as he turned

back towards Mr. Potter. “Your boss?”

“Oh, yes. Alan Hopkins. Didn’t

you know he has an interest in investing?”

Draco blinked. He couldn’t help

the disappointment he was feeling. Alan Hopkins. Mr. Hopkins. Yes, the name did

sound vaguely familiar… Oh, bummer. “Mr. Hopkins is your boss, then?” he fought

hard to keep his smile. “And you are…?”

“His personal assistant,” Mr.

Potter announced proudly; like he didn’t just make Draco’s tower of hope

collapse. Because an assistant, while could be beneficial to make his boss want

to invest, probably did not have the same means and could not offer the same

kind of tip. Gone was Draco’s plan of resolving today’s tension by impressing a

random man and buying him a fancy dinner. Gone was his plan to pay his water

bill tomorrow. If this Potter guy wouldn’t be able to convince Mr. Hopkins

(because Draco knew his worth, and he knew that had it been him speaking

directly to Mr. Hopkins, he would’ve convinced him, especially wearing what he

did) then all his hope of taking himself out of the mess he was in would be

gone. Draco fought the creeping panic attack that lurked in the back of his

mind, tried telling himself that he only got this job yesterday, and tip or no

tip, bonus or no bonus, he was going to get paid for this; which was much more

than he had before that phone call, and it was totally his own fault for

allowing himself such great hopes. “Mr. Hopkins is a very busy man, so he sends

me on most of his missions… tomorrow, for example, I have to check out a

property for a new hotel he might be interested in buying. See the location,

potential, and all that. He trusts me, so don’t worry, if I say this place is

worth his money, and I will - because, damn! It was super cool - then he

probably will choose this place. And it, indeed, has been the most impressive

place I saw so far. And I am sure he will even more appreciate it when I tell

him that they provided such an excellent guide to show me around.”

Draco swallowed. He could be

professional. “Thank you, Mr. Potter. Well… unless you have any further

questions, should I take us back to the car? You must be tired.” Draco

certainly was. It was very tiring to build a tower of hope and collapse it over

his head, all in less than twenty-four hours.

“Not _too_

tired,” Potter said, and Draco felt his despair sinking deeper. After all this,

he still wanted _more_ from him? They didn’t even have lunch!

Most of his travelers immediately said they wanted to eat at the ‘freshly

fished fish restaurants’, which, of course, resulted in Draco getting a nice

dish of high-quality sea food. But not this Potter guy. He just stayed silent.

Was he not used to eating, or something? “I… uh, don’t take this the wrong way,

okay? But I felt…” He raised a hand to mess his already messy hair. It was

almost adorable, Draco had to admit. At least to himself. “I felt that… you

know.” Draco arched his eyebrow. Was this Potter saying what Draco thought he

was saying? He kept playing dumb. “Well, I think that you are rather attractive.

And… I think… if my sight isn’t completely damaged and I need brand new

glasses,” he smiled sheepishly as he touched his round glasses. “I think you

checked me out a few times, too. Please… uh, please don’t think this has

anything at all to do with what I’m going to say to my boss, but, I thought…

well, I’m going to be here for a few more days, and I was wondering if you’d

like to go out tonight?”

Draco blinked. Not that… not that he completely did not see that coming. He only played himself dumb, but he wasn’t that daft. He had to consider this; sure, Potter said it will have no impact on his job, but… well, no one could really be unbiased. And it was completely unethical. But he wasn’t the most ethical person to begin with. What difference did it make? And it wasn’t like the thought didn’t cross his mind. He even thought about looking through grinder to resolve the tension issue he clearly felt, too. And in a few days this Potter guy will leave. He wasn’t unattractive. And it will increase the chance of his sell.

No matter how he looked at it, he could only benefit from saying yes. Or at least, not lose. He offered a smirk. “Sure. Should I charge you for a nightlife tour too?”

Potter moved closer to him, mirroring the smirk. “Put it on my boss’s tab.”

*

The night was good. And so was the day, and the night after that; and the texting and phone calls that followed Harry’s departure, promises to try and be in the same geographic location again. After a few weeks, Draco got the notice that Mr. Hopkins decided, based on his assistant’s recommendation, to donate a very nice sum to the site Draco showed Harry.

The bonus he received was good, and helped him get rid of his accumulating bills; but the best bonus he got was the time spent with Harry.


End file.
